internet

Sunday without a Net

by
cut the cord on Sunday

I am cutting the cord – at least on Sunday. Well, every Sunday. I spend on average at least 10 to 12 hours per work day on the computer. On the weekends, I spend less time than that, but still far too much. I need to regain control of my life. This means no more Internet on Sundays.

The first Sunday without Internet was two weeks ago and it went surprisingly well. No withdrawal symptoms, no website collapse, not even any missed deals on Amazon or eBay. What did happen is that time came back for reading real paper books, for writing with pen and paper, for working on the cars disassembled in the garage, and for baking. Yes, tomorrow there will be breakfast cooked before church and then eggnog rum bread baked in the afternoon.

Read more

Teach Kids Online Safety

by

The Internet is not as dangerous a place for children and teens as we previously thought, according to a recent law enforcement task force report. Real threats remain, however, and parents need to educate themselves and their children about online safety and privacy.Norton OnlineFamily

Be aware of Internet safety.
There are six major areas parents need to be concerned about:

  • Amount of overall Internet/computer use
  • Inappropriate websites—violence, pornography, hate groups
  • Internet predators, perhaps posing as children or teens
  • Online abuse and bullying
  • Divulging confidential family information or ID numbers
  • Downloading/installing malicious software

Create a family policy.
Your Internet policy will depend on how old your kids are and what level of individual responsibility you’re willing to grant them. The point is to have a policy.

  • Use parental controls (see below) to enforce the level of safety you’re comfortable with.
  • Ask the child to suggest a reasonable amount of daily computer usage. Reach agreement on this and then hold the child accountable. Renegotiate if necessary—again, the point is to have an agreed standard, not to expect that the limit will never be exceeded.

Read more